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Aisling Hickey and Irish Women's Team are European Champions

16/9/2023

 
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Championship titles also for Sean Lyng and Don Lawlor in overage singles and Sean Lyng & Joe Devenney in overage doubles
Aisling Hickey from Rossmore Racquetball Club is European Singles Champion for the second time  having previously won the title in 2013. She defeated her Irish team mate Antonia Neary by 3 games to nil in the Final. Indeed Aisling took 4 Championship gold as she also won the Women's Doubles with Antonia Neary and the Mixed doubles with Johnny O'Keeney. The Tipperary athlete claimed her 4th gold as a member of Irish women's team who defeated Germany in the final of the women's team competition. Antonia Neary, Katie Kenny and Majella Haverty were the other members of the Team.
A good week also for Sean Lyng and Don Lawlor in the overage competitions. Sean is 40+ Singles European Champion while Don won the 50+ singles. In men's singles Johnny O'Keeney narrowly lost to Marcel Luensmann of Germany in the final while he and Joe Devenney lost the in the doubles final also by 3  games to 2 to Luensmann and Achim Loof of Germany. Sean Lyng won a second gold medal when he teamed up with Joe Devenney to win the men's 40+ doubles. 
The Irish men's team of Johnny O'Keeney, Joe Devenney, Chris Carey and Sean Lyng  lost to Germany in the final of the team competition.  Full results on R2Sport
Photo From Left, Toni Neary(Arklow) Sean Lyng(Ballyanne), Chris Carey(Fermoy),
Katie Kenny(Castlebar), Johnny O'Keeney(Fermoy) Aisling Hickey(Rossmore),
Joe Devenney(Ballinrobe), Majella Haverty(Castlebar)

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Don Lawlor(Clogh/Moneenroe) European 50+ Singles Champion.

Strategic Plan 2023-27 for Racquetball unveiled

5/9/2023

 
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The Racquetball Association of Ireland has unveiled it's Strategic Plan 2023-2027 for the sport.
Six new pillars have been announced and will be the focus of the Racquetball Association of Ireland for the next five years:
1. Organisation & Governance
2. Promotion & Marketing
3. Participation, Competition & Club Development
4 Coaching Development
5. Finance & Funding
6. High Level Performance & International

Our vision is to continue to develop and enhance the profile of Irish racquetball nationally and internationally while having an effective governance structure, successful provincial council branches and a successful club development program.
DOWNLOAD IN FULL HERE


New Executive Committee Elected at AGM

4/9/2023

 
At the Associations AGM held in Tullamore on Sunday 3rd September a new committee was elected.
President: Susan Farrell(Arklow)
General Secretary: Michael Haverty(Castlebar)
Treasurer: Katie Kenny(Castlebar)
Registrations Secretary: Michael Kelly(Ballinrobe)
Tournament Secretary: Jimmy Gannon(Arklow)
Development Officers: Patrick Hanley(Fermoy) & Johnny O'Keeney(Fermoy)
Junior Development Officer: Johnny O'Keeney(Fermoy)
Children's Officer: vacant (Interim Children's Officer - Jimmy Gannon)
Media & Communications Officer: Vacant
Women's Officer: Antonia Neary(Arklow)
Designated Liaison Person: Patrick Hanley(Fermoy)
Anti-Doping Officer: Jimmy Gannon(Arklow)
The posts of Children's Officer and Media & Communications Officer will be filled by co-option.
Nominees are Sean Lyng(Ballyanne) Children's Officer and Kathleen Conway(Castlebar) Media & Communications.

Ireland Team for European Championships Announced

14/8/2023

 
The Irish Team for the European Championships in Hamburg, Germany from the 13th - 16th Septemaber has been announced.
The team will compete against other countries for the Men's and Women's Nation Cups and then individaual members of the team will compete for the European Singles and Doubles titles.
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Applications Sought for Coach Developer Training 2023

10/7/2023

 
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Racquetball Ireland are currently seeking interested applicants for Coach Developers. We encourage all members to register interest.

The programme will be based in Limerick and will start on Sept 16th and 17th 2023. Coaching Ireland are now seeking nominations put forward by Racquetball Ireland.
Applicants must be available for all the following course dates:

Pre-course on line session: 30/8/23
Weekend 1:  16/17 Sept '23   
Weekend 2: 7/8 Oct '23
Weekend 3: 11/12 Nov '23
Weekend 4: 9/10 Dec '23
Weekend 5: 6/7 Jan '24

These dates may clash with RAI tournaments.
Cost of the Course
The course fee is €1,200 per person. Racquetball Ireland will cover the cost of the course alongside travel & accommodation expenses as well as a out-of-pocket expenses.

What does a Coach Developer do after the five weeks of training?
Deliver Racquetball Ireland’s Coaching Pathway Foundation Course to future coaches (usually only one/two weekends per year).
Read more here about a RAI Coach Developer.

How to I register Interest?
You can let us know you are interested here.
Interest can be registered on a rolling basis but to be considered for the 2023 course, please register interest by Monday 24th June, 2023.
For more information, please contact info@racquetball.ie

Notice of AGM 2023

7/7/2023

 
Notice_of_AGM_2023_RacquetballIreland..pdf
File Size: 201 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


The Annual General Meeting(AGM) of the Association will be held on Sunday 3rd September 2023 at 11.30am. (Midlands Location & venue to be announced later)
 for the purpose:
  • to receive and consider the annual reports for the year ended 31st July 2023 and the report of the officers and auditors thereon  
  • to elect officers in place for 2023-2024 season
  • to consider motions presented to the AGM

Clubs wishing to submit motions of Constitution or Rule changes should do so before Friday 11th August 2023. Motions should list the exact Constitution or Rule number to which the motion refers. The Constitution and Rules & Regulations of the Association can be found on the RAI website www.racquetball.ie .
 
Nominations from clubs and individuals for the positions on the Executive Committee(EXCO) listed below should also be sent by also by 11th August. 
It is important when nominating an individual that the permission of that individual be sought.
 
Please email motion and nominations to info@racquetball.ie. Please include your name, club and phone number.
 
Nominations are sought for the following positions:
  • President (1 year term)
  • General Secretary (2 year term)
  • Registrations Secretary(1 year term)
  • Tournament Secretary(2 year term)
  • Communications & Media Officer(1 year term)
  • Children's Officer(I year term)
  • Women's Officer(1 year term)
  • Anti-doping Officer(1 year term)
 
All affiliated clubs are invited to send 2 representatives to this meeting.
 
Michael Haverty
General Secretary
087 9234514
Dated: 7th July 2023. 

Don Lawlor & James Smith take top honours at 60x30 Championships.

29/5/2023

 
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60x30 Championships a huge success with all finals played on Sunday 28th May.
​All finals closely contested.

The day kicked off with a great Boys U18 Plate final, where John Joe Buggy and Shane O'Dowd showed great spirit to come from 2 games down and set up a tie-breaker with eventual winners Joseph Brennan and Ryan Lawlor. Harry Lawlor and Conor Malone took the Boys U18 title against Jack Carrol and Josh Lawlor, after just losing out in a tough match in the Mens Novice Semi Final on Saturday evening. Great performances from all 8 Juvenile players from theClogh/Moneenroe club over the weekend.
Sisters, Grace and Olivia Hearn stayed focused the whole way through the Ladies Intermediate final to pick up a great win against their Templeudigan clubmates Niamh Murphy and Suzanne Fitzharris, after going 1 game down. Avril Quigley and Maggie Walsh took the Ladies Plate final against Gusserane pair, Diane Somers and Pamela Quigley.
The Men's Novice final was an all Clogh/Moneenroe clash, with Thomas O’Reilly and Dylan Purcell pulling through against Robert Menton and Eoin Moore. It was a well-earned title for Thomas and Dylan on the back of 3 tough matches from the previous day.
New Wexford club, Gusserane, had great representation in the Mens Junior Final with 3 players featuring. Leon Galvin (Templeudigan) and Philly Molloy eventually took the title against Joe Kehoe and Paddy Whelan.
Wexford brothers Brian and James Bolger narrowly missed out in the tie-breaker to John Bolger and Shane Furlong of Templeudigan in a cracking Intermediate final.
In the premier division, the Men's Senior Doubles, Don Lawlor(Clogh) and James Smith(Arklow) battled through 3 tight matches on Saturday including a 12-10 tie-breaker Semi Final win over Niall Gibbons and Enda Gannon, to set up a clash with Paul Cummins of Ballyanne and Sean O’Neill from Templeudigan. It was a thrilling final to wrap up the weekend, with Don and James continuing their trend throughout the competition of digging out results and going on to claim an 11-9 victory in the tie-breaker.
Congratulations to all of the competitors over the weekend. We hope to see everyone again next year along with some new faces.
Or thanks to Tournament Director, Sean Lyng for his sterling work in running the Championships over the weekend.

USA Team Dovetail Coaching & Exhibition Games

23/5/2023

 
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A big Thanks to Mike Kinkin and Team Dovetail for coaching and exhibition games on their tour of Ireland after the Irish & Arklow Open.
The team held coaching sessions for juniors and adults in Kilkenny, Fermoy, Castlebar & Ballinrobe.
We especially thank the team for giving so much time to our junior athletes.
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(Clockwise)
Junior coaching with Team Dovetail in Fermoy, Castlebar and Kilkenny

​

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Acuña and Rodriguez Crowned 40th Irish Open Champions

15/5/2023

 
This weekend we celebrated the 40th Irish & 37th Arklow Open sponsored by Gearbox Racquetball, at Arklow Coral Leisure Centre with more than 65 athletes and 6 different nations taking part.

It was our international competitors that rose to the cream of the crop as Andres Acuna (Costa Rica) took home both the Men’s Open Singles and Doubles titles with Wexford partner Sean Lyng while Marie Renee Rodriguez took home the Ladies Open Singles title.

The 11th World Games Champion, Andres Acuña defeated his Dovetail teammate Andree Parilla (Mexico) by 3 games to 1 in the first semi final to reach the final. While on the other side of the draw, we saw Lalo Portillo(Mexico) defeat the best of the Irish players James Ryan from the Rossmore club in Co Tipperary. It was 3-1  to the Mexican in a high quality semi-final.  The final between Acuña and Portillo went all the way to an exciting conclusion with Acuña taking the crown 13 points to 11 in the fifth and final game..

In the Ladies Open Singles, Maria Renee Rodriguez brought home the crown when she defeated All Ireland Champion Aisling Hickey (Rossmore) 3-1. However in the Ladies Open Doubles, it was Aisling Hickey and Antonia Neary’s day as they defeated Susan Farrell and Maria Renee Rodriguez in the Ladies Open Doubles Final.

Other noteworthy winners include Reece Young (Arklow) who took home not only the CD Singles title but the CD Doubles title with his brother Elliot. In the Ladies CD Doubles, it was a five set thriller that saw Caylee Hogan/ Cara Delaney (Mitchelstown/Galmoy) defeat Kilkennys Deanna Phelan/Ann Marie Keogh.  In the Mens 50+, Joe Devenney (Ballinrobe) took the crown while Billy Walsh(Kilkenn) took the 60+ crown.

A huge thank you to tournament director Adam Neary, the Arklow Racquetball Club committee, all our sponsors, the four hosting venues, Team Dovetail and our own RAI executive committee.
A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes to make an event like this possible and so we are grateful for all the effort by all involved.

Full Results:
https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=41187
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Gary Lynch to be inducted into Hall of Fame

11/5/2023

 
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The Racquetball Association of Ireland it is proud to announce that Gary Lynch(Belfast) is to be inducted into the Association Hall of Fame.
Gary becomes the ninth member of the Association to join those illustrious members of the Association’s Hall of Fame. Gary is recognised as athlete and a contributor.
Gary will be presented with the Hall of Fame award at the 40th Irish Open this coming weekend.
The citation for Gary will read:
Gary Lynch has contributed so much over the years to Irish Racquetball. To condense it into a few paragraphs seems not to justice his commitment to Irish racquetball for many years.
As an athlete, Gary competed at the highest level in Ireland and represented Ireland at international championships. He was a regular competing in tournaments across Ireland and was promoted to Open grade, the highest level in Irish racquetball, thus becoming a member of a select band of racquetball athletes to reach the premier grade.
Internationally he represented Ireland at the 2012 World Championships in the Dominican Republic and played in total of six European Championships. He competed on the European Racquetball Tour winning the French Open in Paris in 2015. And one of the highlights of his racquetball career was winning the 35+ Mixed Doubles with none other than his wife Carol at the Seniors World Doubles Championships in Kingscourt in 2010.
Equally as an administrator Gary played a leading role in the Racquetball Association of Ireland. He was President of the association from 2003-2006. His involvement in administration also saw him successfully fulfil the roles of General Secretary and Treasurer of the Association. Gary played a leading role in Ulster racquetball and also with his club Queens University in Belfast.
Gary’s participation as an athlete and as an administrator in Irish racquetball stretched to over 25 years and for this the Association is proud to induct him in to the Association’s Hall of Fame.

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  • Home
  • About
    • EXCO >
      • Past Presidents
      • Past Exco`s
    • History
  • News
    • Newsletter
  • Membership & Clubs
    • Provincial Councils
    • Player Registration
    • Find A Club
  • Events
    • Entry Form >
      • Ballinrobe Open
    • Calendar
    • Starting Times
    • Results >
      • Past Results >
        • 2015-16
        • 2013-14
        • 2011-12
        • Hosted Events
    • Ranking Lists
    • Promotions >
      • Past Promotions
  • Governance
    • Anti-Doping
    • Child Protection
    • Rules & Regulations
    • Policies & Procedures
  • Teams
    • National Teams >
      • 2023 European National Team Members
      • 2019 European National Team Members
      • 2018 Team Members
    • Junior Team
    • Past Teams >
      • World Championships
      • European Championships
      • EurAsia Championships
      • Junior International Teams
  • Coaching
    • Coach Education
    • Coach Developer >
      • Coach Developer Training
    • Coaching Resources
    • Child Protection >
      • Child Safeguarding Statement
      • Garda Vetting
  • Hall of Fame
    • Hall of Fame nomination form
  • Archive
    • Records >
      • National Singles
      • National Doubles
      • Seniors
      • Irish Open History
      • Club Championships
  • Juniors
    • Boys
    • Girls
  • Grants/Supports
    • Players Grant
  • Media
    • Photo Album
    • Videos
  • Contact
  • registeragm
  • clubleaguegrant